Back in May we submitted a proposal to present at the 3rd International Conference on Participatory Budgeting in North America: Real Money, Real Power and it was accepted!

Clean Air has been working hard over the past couple of years to implement a more democratic and participatory budgeting process in the City of Buffalo and tried to ensure that Tonawanda Coke’s fines from their violations stayed in the neighborhood and went towards community designed projects.

Our efforts to keep Tonawanda Coke’s fine money in Tonawanda and to get the City of Buffalo to adopt PB in their budgeting process have not gone unnoticed and we are so excited to share  the work we’re doing in Western New York with an international audience.

But we can’t do it without contributions from our family, friends, supporters and members! Attending this conference is important to us and our members not only because we will be presenting, but we will also get to learn from others who have implemented PB where they live and will return ready to share the skills and knowledge we need to make PB happen in our communities.

We are working hard to reach our goal through various fundraising events, but every bit helps.  If you are reading this I am asking you to please dig deep and make a contribution of upwards of $50 to help get us a step closer to making this amazing opportunity a reality and to pass this message along to your friends who also love democracy.

You can donate* online at www.cacwny.org/donate or by sending a check to Clean Air, 52 Linwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14209, calling our offices 716.852.3813 or reaching out to any one of our fine delegation attending the conference: Natasha Soto, Rebecca Newberry, William Yelder, Tangia Delk and, Glenn Ratajczak.

Thank you for taking the time to read this “letter” and for your donation (in advance) towards a healthier, happier and more participatory democracy here, locally.

Video: Tangia Delk, Will Yelder and Natasha talk to Artvoice TV about PB

*please make a note that your donation is for the PB Conference. Thanks again!

July 22, 2014

Common Council to Explore Participatory Budgeting in Buffalo

New group will develop recommendations for implementing process in the Queen City

BUFFALO, NY – The Common Council voted unanimously today to establish a working group to learn more about Participatory Budgeting and develop recommendations for implementing the process in Buffalo. Participatory Budgeting is a different way to manage public money, and to engage people in government. It is a democratic process in which community members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget. It was first developed in Brazil in 1989 and there are now over 1,000 participatory budgets around the world used by counties, states, housing authorities, schools, universities and other public agencies. The resolution tasks a dynamic working group with learning more about the process.

“I am pleased to sponsor, along with my colleagues in the Buffalo Common Council, the establishment of a committee for the purpose of implementing a Participatory Budgeting process in the city of Buffalo, similar to what currently exists in other successful municipalities throughout the county,” said Councilmember Michael J. LoCurto.  “As evidenced by the full support of the Buffalo Common Council, participatory budgeting is an empowering tool that the City of Buffalo can utilize to engage city of Buffalo residents on how to spend public money, while simultaneously strengthening communities and deepening democracy.”

“This is a process we hope will grow, amplifying the voice and will of the people to get things accomplished that are most meaningful to their community,” said Councilmember Rasheed N.C. Wyatt.

“We are constantly looking for ways to get our residents more involved in local government and I believe participatory budgeting is a key process to getting more people involved, especially those populations that have historically have been disengaged or even prevented from participating in democracy, said Councilmember David Rivera. “Democracy is the one place where there are never too many cooks in the kitchen and I look forward to having more Buffalonians involved in local government.”

“Buffalo has an opportunity to join New York City, Chicago, Boston, and over 1,500 cities around the world in giving residents real power over real money, said Josh Lerner, Executive Director of the Participatory Budgeting Project, a non-profit organization that supports participatory budgeting across the US. “For over two years, community groups and officials in Buffalo have been laying the groundwork for participatory budgeting. With the White House now promoting participatory budgeting as a model for civic engagement, this is an ideal time for Buffalo to take public engagement to the next level.”

“I’m looking for to coming together so that we can see the outcomes we want in our neighborhood, said Tangia Delk, a city of Buffalo resident who attended the Participatory Budgeting conference in 2013. “Let’s budget together, listen to one another, and do right by this money and our community.”

The resolution is the culmination of many years of organizing and local learning about participatory budgeting. In 2012, now New York City Council President Melissa Mark-Viverito who has implemented PB in her council district visited Buffalo and spoke with the Common Council and local community groups. The city has also hosted Josh Lerner, director of the Participatory Budgeting Project. In 2013, a delegation of community leaders and organizations led by the Clean Air Coalition of Western New York traveled to Chicago to attend the Participatory Budgeting Conference. The trip was supported by Councilmember Michael J. LoCurto, David A. Rivera, and Joseph Golombek, Jr.

Clean Air: Organizing for Health and Justice is a grassroots environmental health and justice organization that works throughout the region to improve public health, the environment and our democracy.

Over the years, Clean Air’s work has grown larger and deeper. As we’ve expanded to new neighborhoods and new fights, our staff and team of volunteers has also grown. So our board has found us a beautiful, new office where we can hold community meetings, phone bank, and our staff has the space to work comfortably.

Our new location is at 52 Linwood Avenue in Buffalo.

On Monday, July 28 from 4-6pm, we are holding an Open House & Potluck. Please consider stopping by see our new office, get an update on current events, share some good food, and meet the members and supporters who help keep our campaigns running!

We managed to buy almost nothing new – and we’d like to keep it that way! We need the following items to make the office feel finished and comfortable. If you can donate any of these items please just give us a call at 716-852-3813.

Garbage cans and recycling bins

Floor and table lamps

Plates

Bowls

Fans

Area rugs

Folding tables

Suspension rods for windows

Chairs for conference room

Comfy chair or couch

Door mats

Plunger

Mop

Broom and dust pan

Clock

Cloth napkins

Want a way to stay involved with Clean Air over the summer?

Want to learn more about Climate Change?

Do you just like watching movies?

If you answered yes to any of these questions Clean Air has something for you!

Kate and one of our leaders, Glenn at the Just Transition conference 

After attending the Just Transition Conference this past weekend, I walked away with my mind full of new issues, concepts, and ideas I learned from the various speakers.

First, I was surprised to see all of the statistics regarding coal plants in general and their decreasing success throughout the recent years.  I was also definitely surprised to hear about where the money is in our economy.  Les Leopold made a lot of great points, showing where the money is and how unbalanced our society is.

To accomplish our goal of a Just Transition, and any move in a new direction for that matter, money is a key component.  Funding is necessary to make up for energy that will be lost if the plant retires as well as the tax revenue that is needed for Tonawanda.  I also enjoyed hearing about the alternative energy options including wind and solar energy.  However, I did see that these would be very large scale projects that would make up for the lost energy and would probably have very high start-up costs associated with it.

The last panel that focused on the transition itself was my favorite panel of the day.  The panel brought in great speakers that have gone through or are in the process of going through very similar problems that we are.  I think they can really relate to our current state and were able to show us some sort of light at the end the tunnel.  There is a lot of information that was presented at the conference and I think the last panel was able to show everyone that it IS possible to transition to a new future.

In the end, I’m not quite sure what is the best direction for Tonawanda to go, but I think we need to keep spreading the word to get a broader base of support. There are a lot of criteria that needs to be kept in mind in moving forward and I think we need to get more support.  We need to be able to have a fund set up that can help with the financing of the transition.  Additionally I think we need to have a solid end goal for the site.  I don’t think at this time it would be wise to convert the site to natural gas energy because soon enough we would have to turn around again and move towards greener energy for the future.  Globally we are moving in the direction of greener energy and I think it is possible for us to be a part of the global move in that direction.  There definitely is potential for the site to become more a part of the community as well and reconnect us to the waterfront once more.

I think the conference did a great job bringing such a wide range of perspectives and I’m hoping that we keep the discussion open and moving in a positive direction.  Our biggest issue is that we need a plan so that if the plant closes we are prepared to do something about it.

Kate is an intern at the Clean Air Coalition, a Tonawanda resident and a student at SUNY ESF.

This past Saturday, June 7th, I attended the Clean Air Coalition’s Just Transition Conference to discuss the future of the Huntley Coal Plant in Tonawanda and coal plants in general. Although there were several informative panels over the course of the day, it was Les Leopold’s 99 Percent Economics panel that left me simultaneously outraged and in awe throughout.

The focus of his panel was the trend of financialization, or the transformation of everyone and everything into a source of income for the financial sector. I was aware of this trend before the conference, albeit abstractedly, but Leopold’s use of clear and straightforward graphs and statistics made financialization and the disproportionate harm it causes much more concrete and shocking, though unsurprising due to my general knowledge of the profit-driven financial sector that is destroying the environment and increasing inequality.

One of the facts that most shocked me was that in 2010 the top Wall St. Hedge Fund Manager made 2.4 million dollars AN HOUR, which is the same amount that an average American family makes in 47 YEARS. This highlights the insane inequity that exists today and will only worsen if the financial sector remains largely unregulated. Not only is this inequity harmful on a personal level, with a few living in extreme excess while many do not even make a real living wage, but it is also hurting the environment as it makes us feel like we can’t afford environmental protection. The rising indebtedness also makes it more difficult for the government to spend money on environmental protection rather than immediate social programs.

Given that financialization is harmful to most of the country and our environment, it is clear that change is necessary. Leopold advocated for this change by encouraging us to unite our different groups and silos into a unified movement. If we could do this nationally we would be able to have enough people power that the government would have to listen to our demands, which is something the environmental movement has previously lacked. So let’s do it! Let’s build coalitions, educate each other, unite, and demand justice today!

Clean Air is hosting a training for those interested in learning a basic understanding of their legal rights during protests, rallies, and other types of actions.

Join us to:

• Learn the benefits of using different actions, like strikes and pickets, to move a target or decision maker on an issue
• Learn what “non-violent direct action’ is, and why its used
• Share your experience with other Clean Air members

WHEN: Wednesday, June 18th at 5:30pm

WHERE: United Way of Buffalo and Erie County, 724 Delaware Ave. Buffalo, NY (Free parking behind building)

Call our office at 852-3813 if you have any questions or need a ride

Join Clean Air: Organizing for Health and Justice for the Just Transition: Good Jobs and Health Communities Conference on June 7th! The jam packed day will feature some of the nation’s leading experts in movement building, coal finance, just transition, renewable energy, and sustainable and democratic community development. Presenters include:

Les Leopold is the director of the Labor Institute, strategic consultant to the Blue-Green Alliance, and author of  author of How to Make a Million Dollars an Hour: Why Financial Elites get away with siphoning off America’s Wealth. His workshop 99 Percent Economics: What We Need to Know About the Economy to Protect Our Jobs, Health and the Environment will discuss the ways in which Wall Street has revolutionized the economy and how it impacts the shop floor, the community and the natural environment.

Jean Pogge is the CEO of Delta Institute that is leading the Fisk and Crawford Ruse Task Force, a committee that will work to solicit community input and economic development and job creation alternatives for the land on which the Fisk and Crawford power plant used to be.  

Sean Sweeney is the Director and founder of the Global Labor Institute, a program of the Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations and works with Trade Unions for Energy Democracy. In 2007 Sweeney and the Global Labor Institute team worked with the Steelworkers and other unions to organize the North American Labor Assembly on Climate Crisis, the first major conference on unions and climate change. Sweeney and GLI then worked with the AFL-CIO and Change to Win to build U.S. labor’s presence at the UN’s climate talks in Bali for COP 13, and he serves on the International Trade Union Confederation’s climate working group.

Participation is free, but registration is required and space is limited. Register today at www.justtransition.com. The conference kicks off at 10, will conclude with a happy hour at 5:30 and will be hosted at the NYSUT offices at 270 Essjay in Amherst. 

After the release of the recent report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) that painted a dim future for the Huntley coal plant , Clean Air held a series of community assemblies in the city and town of Tonawanda, Grand Island, and Riverside to vision a “just” transition in case of the plant’s closure. Nearly 100 impacted residents, workers, and climate change activists came together to vision a resilient future for our region if the NRG Huntley coal plant were to retire. The conference will build on the ideas and relationships that were generated at the assemblies. 

Together, we can ensure that if the plant retires workers are protected, new revenue is secured for our schools and local governments, and the property is redeveloped to meet our community’s needs. Questions? Call Clean Air at 716-852-3813.