N2N Green Victory in Holyoke City Council

The transition from coal to green jobs has begun!

After months of planning, education, and outreach, “Action for a Healthy Holyoke,” a coalition which includes Neighbor to Neighbor, won our first victory in our campaign to shut down coal and bring in green jobs!   On Tuesday, the Holyoke City Council unanimously voted to pass a resolution to form a Community Advisory Group that will conduct a study on potential future uses of the Mt. Tom coal plant site.  The coal plant is the second largest in Massachusetts and has been contaminating the city for too long!

“Action for a Healthy Holyoke!” is a coalition working to hasten the retirement of this 50-year old polluting power plant and ensure that Holyoke has a plan in place for a  clean, sustainable alternative.  Members of “Action for a Healthy Holyoke!” (AHH!) packed the city council chamber, holding signs and speaking out about the health impacts of the coal plant and the importance of transitioning to sustainable alternatives.

“Today the council heard our call to plan for the future,” commented N2N-Holyoke member, Leonilda Figueroa.  “If the coal plant closes its doors, we want to make sure the company cleans up the site, and that we have a plan
to attract new, green jobs to the city.”

We thank our leaders on the council,  Rebecca Lisi, Aaron Vega, Kevin Jourdain, and Tim Purington for proposing AHH!’s resolution to the council and advocating for its passage.

And we thank all of you who made our work and this victory possible!

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This is our opportunity to make Holyoke the clean, sustainable city we’d like it to be.

Now is our chance to bring forward our vision for a healthy Holyoke that is prosperous for all.

Please stay tuned as future opportunities for action arise – we want your voice at the table!

Adelante Siempre,
All of us at NEIGHBOR TO NEIGHBOR