NORTH TONAWANDA, N.Y. — Living along Sherwood Ave. in North Tonawanda used to bring the kind of peace that would make the adirondacks jealous.
But over the past two years, it’s developed a different reputation.
Neighbors in North Tonawanda have had to deal with the unrelenting sounds coming from the Digihost cryptomine on Erie Ave. since it opened in February 2022, pushing many residents to their breaking point.
“It's bringing our quality of life down, for sure,” said North Tonawanda resident Karen Hance. “You don't get used to it. No, it doesn't drown out. It's always there. It's like a gnat picking at you.”
North Tonawanda Mayor Austin Tylec said he’s aware of residents’ ongoing concerns but that there isn’t a simple fix.
“It's not like a house party that someone throws where we'd send police, quiet down, shut down the party, the noise stops,” he said. “It is a much different situation that we have to deal with here.”
He said he’s worked with the blockchain technology company to try to change their equipment and install a wall to block the sound, but so far, their attempts have been unsuccessful.
Tylec also said the city doesn’t have the proper equipment and training to prove the noise is violating any codes.
“I could go out with my cell phone and do readings. Anyone could really do that, but there's specific equipment that you want to have for accuracy,” he said.
In the meantime, he has proposed a two-year moratorium to hold off any future cryptomines or developments to the current one. However, it won’t prevent the current facility from operating or stop the noise.
“We have to be thorough, educate ourselves, make sure that we're doing everything we should be doing before we start changing codes, issuing fines of any sort, really going after business,” Tylec said.
Tylec took a similar approach before the plant began operating. He proposed a moratorium to allow for more research into cryptomining, but it failed.
This time, neighborhoods like Karen tell me they don’t buy the city’s justification.
“I say it's a cop out,” she said. “If I'm going to play my stereo loud at night after 10 o'clock, people are going to call the cops and have me turn it off.”
She just wants her neighborhood to sound like it used to.
“I want to hear the birds chirping,” she said. “That's what I like to hear.”
The North Tonawanda City Council will vote on the moratorium on July 16.
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